Ford Misses Out On Chinese Lust For Pony Power

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: September 16th, 2012

ford misses out on chinese lust for pony power

GM is smarter than Ford when it comes to exploiting rich Chinese, says Tycho de Feyter of Carnewschina. While GM sells is Camaro in China for a whopping $72,000 on up, Ford is leaving money on the table and profits to grey importers.

The Price Of MuscleModelChina RMBIn $US MSRP $2013 Mustang V6568,00089,97122,200Boss 3021,168,000185,01142,995Shelby GT 5001,248,000197,68354,995Camaro 3.6 V6455,80072,19923,345

Says Tycho:

“Ford does not export the Mustang to China. However, it is relatively easy to get one via the thriving gray market. I went to a small dealer show in Beijing a while back and received a nice brochure from a Beijing-based Ford Mustang dealer. Not cheap; the 2013 Mustang V6 goes for 568.000 yuan. China’s high import taxes account for about 25%. Things get even madder with more expensive Mustangs…”

The 25 percent tariff is not all. There is a car sales tax of up to 40 percent depending on engine size. Also, there is a 17 percent value added tax. Lastly, there is the matter of the punitive tariffs China slapped on U.S. car exports. However, rumor has it that some taxes remain unpaid, especially in the netherworld of grey imports.

Despite the hefty taxes, rest assured that there is plenty profit in those grey imported Mustangs, profits that is shared by West Coast dealers who and by Chinese grey importers. On the GM side, that profit stays with Chevrolet. Says Tycho:

“Ford finally did take notice earlier this year and might or might not be considering importing the Mustang to China, but it won’t be anytime soon. Strangely, Ford decided to sell the Mustang in cash-stripped Europe first, where road tax for big American cars is very high and where their image very low. China would snap up many more Mustangs …”

#BertelSchmitt #Carnewschina #China #FordMustang #TychoDeFeyter

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

5 of 18 comments

Juniper on Sep 16, 2012

What kind of scale are we talking? 5000 a year, 500, 50, 5?

Like Reply
Dimwit on Sep 16, 2012

Based on the evidence, Ford is scared of China. Whether it's their wonderful IP reputation or just the sheer headaches from the bureaucracy but it's clear that Ford is keeping far away.

Like Reply
- See 2 previous
- Sunridge place on Sep 16, 2012
  
  This is odd behavior for a scared company keeping far away from China. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=36370
  
  Like
- Dimwit on Sep 16, 2012
  
  @sunridge place Interesting. What does CFMA make? Are they Fords or Chinese? I don't think they have ever appeared on these pages, have they?
  
  Like
- Ranwhenparked on Sep 16, 2012
  
  @Dimwit Chang'an Ford Mazda builds the Ford Maverick, Focus, Fiesta, and Mondeo for the Chinese market, along with the Mazda2 and 6. Ford owns 35%, Mazda 15%, Chang'an 50%. Current plans are to split it in two 50-50 ventures, Chang'an Ford and Chang'an Mazda, with each taking one of CFMA's two assembly plants. Chang'an Automobile is China's 4th largest automaker, and a wholly owned subsidiary of China Weaponry Equipment. They sell their own models mostly under the "Chana" brand, which actually look quite modern.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Sobhuza Trooper That Dave Thomas fella sounds like the kind of twit who is oh-so-quick to tell us how easy and fun the bus is for any and all of your personal transportation needs. The time to get to and from the bus stop is never a concern. The time waiting for the bus is never a concern. The time waiting for a connection (if there is one) is never a concern. The weather is never a concern. Whatever you might be carrying or intend to purchase is never a concern. Nope, Boo Cars! Yeah Buses! Buses rule!Needless to say, these twits don't actual take the damn bus.
MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh [h3]Wake me up when it is a 1989 635Csi with a M88/3[/h3]
BrandX "I can charge using the 240V outlets, sure, but it’s slow."No it's not. That's what all home chargers use - 240V.